After 7 Were Arrested And 1 Killed, Remaining Oregon Protesters Made Huge Announcement

Protesters in an Oregon standoff with the federal government have vowed to stay in place following the arrest of their leader, Ammon Bundy, and the shooting death of their spokesman, Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, by law enforcement.

Jason Patrick, who appears to have become one of the group’s leaders, told a local reporter Wednesday that members met and decided they will not end their occupation, which is in protest to the federal government restricting land use by private citizens in the area.

i just spoke to the new leaders — including jason patrick – They say that 5-6 ppl had a meeting, and by consensus they decided to stay. 1/2

As reported by Western Journalism, members of the group have stated law enforcement murdered their spokesman LaVoy Finicum during a highway stop Tuesday evening, during which five other members of the group were arrested, including Bundy. According to the group, witnesses said Finicum had his hands up and was trying to surrender peacefully.

The Oregonian reports there are other accounts of the incident suggesting Finicum charged the officers at the scene and was brandishing a weapon.

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“I’m disappointed a traffic stop yesterday that was supposed to bring peaceful resolution to this ended badly,” Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward said with emotion in his voice at a news conference Wednesday morning. “It didn’t have to happen. We all make choices in life. Sometimes our choices go bad.”

“Let me be clear: It is fully and unequivocally the behavior and the choices made by the armed occupiers that have led us to where we are today. And, as the FBI and our partners have demonstrated, actions are not without consequences,” said FBI agent in charge Greg Bretzing at the same press conference.

The FBI picked the time and place they would move to arrest Bundy and the other leaders, the Washington Post reported.

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Federal authorities have reportedly sealed off the occupation site at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge with checkpoints and roadblocks and have called on those remaining to peacefully surrender. The Post reported the “frenzy of activity” marks “a sudden escalation in the ongoing standoff that has simmered for more than three weeks.”

“It’s time for everybody in this illegal occupation to move on,” Sheriff Ward said. “There doesn’t have to be bloodshed in our community. If we have issues with the way things are going in the government, we have a responsibility as citizens to act on those in an appropriate manner. We don’t arm up. We don’t arm up and rebel. We work through the appropriate channels.”